FlySAA strives to drive the growth and development of aviation in Africa starting with the launch of a new service between Accra, Ghana and Washington D.C., United States.  

Miami, 9 June 2015 – South African Airways (SAA), the South African National Flag Carrier, wants to focus on growing its African network and improving inter-connectivity on the continent. With more than 80 years of operations, and a leading position in Africa, SAA has a crucial role to play in driving aviation traffic growth and economic development.

At the IATA Annual General Meeting in Miami, Nico Bezuidenhout, South African Airways’s Acting Chief Executive, emphasised at the IATA Annual General Meeting in Miami, SAA’s determination to bring its premium service to more and more destinations in Africa.

“Our goal is to increase our revenue in the region by 30% in the next twelve months. Africa is a huge potential market for aviation and as Africa’s legacy airline, we want to see the continent contribute to more than the current 3% of global aviation,” said Bezuidenhout.

SA Airways is already strengthening its position in West Africa with the launch of a new service between Accra, Ghana and Washington D.C., United States. Starting August 3, 2015, SAA will be providing the only nonstop flight between Ghana and Washington D.C., as well as the only Skytrax 4-Star rated airline service and world-class quality from the entire West Africa region to North America.

True to its promise of improving inter-connectivity on the continent, SAA entered into a bi-lateral codeshare agreement with Africa World Airlines. This airline partnership will offer SAA customers from Washington and Johannesburg seamless connectivity via Accra to other destinations in Ghana such as Kumasi, Takoradi, and Tamale, as well as to Lagos, Nigeria.

SAA’s CEO also highlighted the improved performance of the carrier since its 90-Day Action Plan was completed, with a material year-on-year improvement noticeable in the current financial year, which, for SAA, commenced in April 2015. The plan included major cost-cutting initiatives and network optimiszation, which led to significant savings. South African Airways is now ready to boost its capacity and focus on its African routes.  

“In the first quarter of 2015, a lot of efforts went into stabiliszing our airline and we achieved significant milestones. We now want to grow our capabilities and better connect South Africa to the rest of the continent,” said Bezuidenhout. 

About South African Airways (SAA)
South African Airways (SAA) is the leading carrier in Africa, serving 56 destinations, in partnership with SA Express, SA Airlink and its low cost carrier, Mango, within South Africa and across the continent, and nine intercontinental routes from its Johannesburg hub. It is a member of the largest international airline network, Star Alliance. SAA’s core business is the provision of passenger airline and cargo transport services together with related services, which are provided through SAA and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SAA Technical; Mango its low cost carrier; and Air Chefs, the catering entity of SAA. SAA is the winner of the 'Best Airline in Africa’ Award in the regional category for twelve consecutive years and the winner of ‘Service Excellence Africa’ for three years. Mango and SAA hold the number one and number two successive spots as South Africa’s most on - time airlines.  

SAA Spokesperson Tlali Tlali
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Mobile:+27 82 333 3880
Office: +27 11 978 22